RisaQuad News

TUESDAY, Aug. 29, 2017 – Parents often try unconventional treatments – such as acupuncture and herbal products – when their kids are sick, but many don't tell their pediatricians about it, a new report shows. Such omissions could be risky, especially when these young patients are already taking traditional medications, the report authors said. "The point we're making in this report is that many of our young patients are already using these [complementary] therapies," said lead author Dr. Hilary McClafferty. "And much of that use is driven by the consumer, by parents looking for additional help for their children. "But a lot of parents are not necessarily disclosing this use to their child's pediatrician, for fear of censure or ridicule," McClafferty explained. "That can be a problem, because while we are really excited about some of the advances in the field of complementary medicine ... Read more

MONDAY, July 3, 2017 – Probiotic supplements may not protect babies from catching colds or stomach bugs in day care, a new clinical trial suggests. Probiotics are bacteria and other microorganisms that dwell in the body, aiding in digestion, immunity and other vital functions. Probiotic supplements provide some of those same organisms. Most often, products contain strains of the bacteria Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. That's what researchers tested in the new study – with disappointing results. Among 290 babies in child care, those given probiotics every day for six months were no less likely to suffer respiratory or gastrointestinal infections, the investigators found. The findings stand in contrast to some past studies: Specifically, two trials have found that probiotics cut the risk of gastrointestinal infections among babies ... Read more

THURSDAY, Jan. 26, 2017 – A small study suggests a novel treatment for kids with autism: Give these young patients a fresh supply of healthy gut bacteria via a fecal transplant. After the procedure, the children experienced a 25 percent reduction in symptoms related to language, social interaction and repetitive behaviors, said study co-author James Adams, an autism researcher at Arizona State University. Not only that, the kids also became less hyperactive, irritable and lethargic, Adams said. "It's not a cure for autism, but in 10 weeks we were able to make a substantial dent," he said. Many children with autism suffer from chronic gastrointestinal problems like diarrhea and constipation, often from infancy, Adams explained. That may be because they either carry harmful gut bacteria or lack many healthy strains. "Most people have about a thousand different species of bacteria in ... Read more

TUESDAY, Aug. 9, 2016 – The amount of fat in a pregnant woman's diet may influence the mix of microbes in her baby's gut, a new study suggests. The community of gut microbes – known as the microbiome – can affect the development of a baby's immune system and the ability to extract energy from food, the researchers said. The study included more than 150 women who provided a record of their eating habits during pregnancy. The amount of fat in their diets ranged from 14 percent to 55 percent, with an average of 33 percent. The U.S. Institute of Medicine recommends 20 percent to 35 percent. The gut microbiomes of babies born to mothers who ate a high-fat diet during pregnancy were different from those of babies whose mothers who did not. Specifically, babies whose mothers ate a high-fat diet had fewer Bacteroides microbes in their guts, both at birth and several weeks after. Having fewer ... Read more

THURSDAY, July 21, 2016 – Some human gut bacteria may have existed for millions of years – since before the evolution of people, scientists report. Their findings suggest evolution has had a greater impact on human gut bacteria than previously known, said study co-leader Howard Ochman, a professor of integrative biology at the University of Texas at Austin. "It's surprising that our gut microbes, which we could get from many sources in the environment, have actually been co-evolving inside us for such a long time," Ochman said in a university news release. The researchers analyzed the genes of three groups of gut bacteria. These bacteria play a role in intestinal development, train the immune system to fight dangerous germs, and may also affect mood and behavior, the study authors said. The three groups of gut bacteria reportedly account for more than 20 percent of the gut microbiome. ... Read more

FRIDAY, July 15, 2016 – Chronic fatigue syndrome – a condition that continues to baffle doctors – may be influenced by a person's intestinal bacteria – sometimes called gut microbiome, new research finds. "Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome have a different profile of bacterial species in their gut microbiome than healthy individuals," said the study's senior author, Maureen Hanson. She's a professor of molecular biology and genetics at Cornell University, in Ithaca, N.Y. In the small study, she and her colleagues found that people with chronic fatigue syndrome had less diversity or different types of bacteria, compared to healthy people without chronic fatigue syndrome. People with chronic fatigue syndrome also had more species of bacteria that promote inflammation and fewer bacteria that dampen inflammation, the researchers found. The new findings provide evidence to refute ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, June 22, 2016 – Americans spend a good chunk of their health care dollars on alternative medicine, such as acupuncture, yoga, chiropractic care and natural supplements, a new government report shows. In fact, they paid more than $30 billion out of pocket in 2012 on chiropractors and other complementary health practitioners, as well as supplements and other forms of alternative medicine. "Substantial numbers of Americans spent billions of dollars out-of-pocket on these approaches – an indication that users believe enough in the value of these approaches to pay for them," said study co-author Richard Nahin. He is lead epidemiologist at the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Expenditures in 2012 included: $14.7 billion out-of-pocket on visits to complementary practitioners such as chiropractors, yoga instructors, acupuncturists or massage ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 30, 2015 – Drinking water pipes and water treatment plants host an ecosystem of "good bacteria" that help purify the water, Swedish researchers say. Thousands of species of beneficial bacteria form a thin coating called a biofilm in water treatment plants and on the inside of water pipes. These bacteria play a much greater role in providing clean drinking water than previously thought, the researchers explained. "A previously completely unknown ecosystem has revealed itself to us. Formerly, you could hardly see any bacteria at all and now, thanks to techniques such as massive DNA sequencing and flow cytometry, we suddenly see eighty thousand bacteria per milliliter in drinking water," said Catherine Paul, an applied microbiology and water resources engineering researcher at Lund University. The presence of good bacteria in drinking water systems is "similar to what ... Read more

FRIDAY, Dec. 4, 2015 – The diabetes drug metformin appears to trigger favorable changes in intestinal bacteria, a new study finds. Researchers analyzed the intestinal bacteria populations in 784 people with and without type 2 diabetes who lived in China, Denmark and Sweden. The results showed that taking metformin had positive effects on the intestinal bacteria of people with type 2 diabetes. Specifically, the drug improved the ability of the bacteria to produce certain types of short-chain fatty acids that reduce blood sugar levels in different ways. The researchers also found that patients who take metformin have more coliform bacteria in their intestines, which may explain why the drug causes side effects such as bloating and increased flatulence. "We weren't able to show that other types of antidiabetic drugs had any actual impact on the gut microbiota. When studying type 2 ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 25, 2015 – Probiotics don't protect very preterm infants from serious complications, such as a bowel condition called necrotizing enterocolitis, sepsis or death, according to a new study. The findings challenge previous research that suggested potential benefits from probiotics, the British researchers said. Probiotics are good bacteria found in certain foods and supplements. The study included more than 1,300 very preterm infants. The babies were given either the probiotic Bifidobacterium breve or a placebo. This probiotic was used because it was the only one previously reported to show any benefit when the study began, the study authors explained. Sepsis (a potentially life-threatening complication of an infection) occurred in 11 percent of the probiotic group and 12 percent of the placebo group, the study found. Necrotizing enterocolitis occurred in 9 percent of the ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 11, 2015 – Adding probiotics – good bacteria – to an infant's feedings in the first month of life may reduce the risk of type 1 diabetes for those genetically predisposed to getting the disease, new research suggests. Supplementing with probiotics later in infancy didn't seem to confer the same benefit, the researchers noted. "Early probiotic exposure during the first 27 days is associated with a decreased risk of type 1 diabetes among those who have the highest genetic risk of type 1 diabetes," said lead researcher Ulla Uusitalo, an associate professor in the department of pediatric epidemiology at the University of South Florida in Tampa. However, Uusitalo noted that because of the study's design, the researchers "cannot make a conclusion about causality." But she stressed that the association was so strong, these findings warrant further study. The study was ... Read more

THURSDAY, Oct. 15, 2015 – You may be putting your health at risk if you use imported products such as dietary supplements or nonprescription drugs that are sold at ethnic or international stores, flea markets, swap meets or online. So says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in a warning issued Thursday. Health product scammers often focus their marketing on people who shop at nontraditional locations. They also target consumers with limited English language skills and poor access to health care services, according to Cariny Nunez, a public health adviser in the FDA's Office of Minority Health. "These scammers know that ethnic groups who may not speak or read English well, or who hold certain cultural beliefs, can be easy targets," she said in an FDA news release. Many health product scammers also include the word "natural" on their products because they know it appeals to certain ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 14, 2015 – Side effects from dietary supplements send more than 20,000 Americans to the emergency room each year, a new government study reveals. One expert said the report – published Oct. 15 in the New England Journal of Medicine – should quash arguments that herbal products, amino acids and other supplements are uniformly "safe" and need no tighter regulation. "This is the most important study done on dietary supplements since DSHEA was passed," said Dr. Pieter Cohen, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School who studies supplement safety. Cohen was referring to the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, a 1994 law that defined supplements as food rather than drugs. The upshot is that manufacturers do not have to prove their products have benefits, or are even safe. Over the years, there have been recalls of certain supplements found to cause harm, ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 30, 2015 – The presence of four types of gut bacteria in infancy may reduce a child's risk for asthma, Canadian researchers report. Most infants get these bacteria naturally from the environment. But some babies are given antibiotics that kill these bacteria, and some are not exposed to them for various reasons, the researchers said. "We now have particular markers that seem to predict asthma later in life," lead researcher Brett Finlay, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, said during a news conference Tuesday. "These findings indicate that bacteria that live in and on us may have a role in asthma," he said. This seems to happen by 3 months of age in ways that still aren't clear. Coming into contact with environmental bacteria, such as by living on a farm or having pets, appears to decrease asthma risk, Finlay ... Read more

THURSDAY, Sept. 10, 2015 – The size of your waistline may depend to some degree on the specific bacteria dwelling within your gut, new research suggests. The study, of nearly 900 Dutch adults, found that certain gut bacteria might help determine not only body fat levels, but also blood concentrations of HDL cholesterol and triglycerides. HDL is the "good" cholesterol that helps maintain a healthy heart; triglycerides are another type of blood fat that, in excess, can contribute to heart disease. This is the first study to offer "solid evidence" that gut bacteria are linked to cholesterol and triglyceride levels, said lead researcher Jingyuan Fu. But it does not prove that the bacteria directly alter people's blood fats, stressed Fu, an associate professor of genetics at University Medical Center Groningen, in the Netherlands. So it's too early to recommend probiotic supplements for ... Read more